Over the next few weeks, even the truly enjoyable tasks, such as taste-testing wines to serve with the festive meal, are likely to gobble up more time than you actually have.

How to get it all done? Alas, so simple. Pay for help. How much is between you and your bank balance, but even just a little seasonal support will reduce holiday hassle.

Consider, for example, splurging on a few floral arrangements rather than making your own. I was recently reminded of the power of flowers when I visited Fresh Florals (facebook.com/freshflorals) on Danforth Ave., just east of Broadview Ave.

Not only is the place stuffed with flowers and suffused with their perfume, there are lots of beautiful accessories — big ceramic pieces, gorgeous glass vessels, interesting mosses, sculptural pieces of wood and charmingly quirky metal wall art.

Owner Bruno Duarte, who grew up on a farm in Madeira, Portugal, which is to flowers what the Arctic is to ice (or used to be), recently invited local media there to preview his holiday looks and offer tips on floral decor.

Good greens should form the foundation of holiday florals, says Duarte. “They last the whole month. So if you make a piece that is mostly greens and add some Christmas bulbs, your actual floral cost is minimal. You can replace individual blooms as you need them. For instance, we do orchids on a water pick so that you can just re-order just a bloom.”

Warm coppery oranges and gold and are Duarte’s colour theme for this year. “They are so warm, and go well with red. That — married with the green — is really pretty,” he says.

Business for exterior and interior decoration, and floral orders at Fresh Floral Creations — and just about every other florist in town — will really heat up this weekend. Govern yourself accordingly, but do try visiting a small local florist rather than a big box. I almost guarantee it will be a more pleasant excursion.

For $150, someone with come to your home (just in the GTA for now) and install up to 80 feet of lights on either a first or second floor. They don’t do apartments, condos or commercial buildings. If you want lights installed on roof peaks, shrubbery or trees, more than 80 feet of lights, or to add inflatables, you’ll pay more.

The price includes any necessary clips, but the homeowner supplies all lights, extension cords and timers. Installers bring their own ladder, but special equipment, such as a cherry picker, will also incur additional costs.

It works like this. After buying lights and decoration from your local Canadian Tire (you may also use existing lights or buy them elsewhere, of course), the homeowner calls 1-855-682-4663 to get a quote and book an installation date. An authorized installer will call back within 24 hours.

Allison Duffy, manager of Christmas and toys for Canadian Tire, predicts the new service will be a hit, “especially after the temperature really starts to drop!”

The appeal of twinkling lights is universal, she says. “It’s such a good feeling to come home when it’s dark and see the colour and the shimmer and the light. It just warms up the winter. “

Having someone else install lights, says Duffy, means the homeowner can focus on the fun stuff, such as picking colours and styles.

“There’s no one look that’s right — although trend colours would be purple, blue and green. We see a lot of that in interior decor now, and it’s been taken outside. But it’s really very personal; some people love white, some love multi-coloured and some like to switch it up every year,” she says.

Using just two colours, such as red and white or blue and white, makes it easy to get a co-ordinated effect, suggests Duffy. For those who like a lot of bling, there are special effect lights that glow, flicker or change colour. These are big this year, as are icicle-shaped lights that mimic the shimmer of dripping ice. Quick and easy options include solar patio lanterns, stars that light up when plugged in, or light blankets that can be draped over shrubs.

Food is the other big holiday chore. If you like to cook, go for it. If not, head to the supermarket and stock the larder with prepared stuff. Having taken a ride out to the President’s Choice test kitchen last month to sample their exhaustive holiday food line-up, I found several that I thought really shone.

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